Reduce Body Fat Group

Join

Some online body fat calculator links

Options
bazfitness
bazfitness Posts: 275 Member
in Social Groups
Thought I'd better get the show on the road....
So here's the first post:smile:

http://www.scientificpsychic.com/fitness/diet.html
http://www.bmi-calculator.net/body-fat-calculator/
http://www.active.com/fitness/calculators/bodyfat.htm

I've used online calculators so far for this but I'm not at all sure how reliable the results are. I think they are good to give you a general idea. Anybody tried or thinking of trying calipers to get a more accurate reading or any other method?

Replies

  • androde
    androde Posts: 96 Member
    Options
    I've used online ones before but the were so far off the mark lol. Some might be good tho, invest in some medical calipers, I got some from amazon.co.uk for about £3-4
  • bazfitness
    bazfitness Posts: 275 Member
    Options
    I've used online ones before but the were so far off the mark lol. Some might be good tho, invest in some medical calipers, I got some from amazon.co.uk for about £3-4

    thanks Alex. I'll get them then in my next Amazon order. :)
  • msstuard
    msstuard Posts: 131 Member
    Options
    I'm retired from the military, we used calculators for our annual fitness test for many years, and have found them to be very close in most cases. Some body types may lead to inaccurate results.
  • androde
    androde Posts: 96 Member
    Options
    After having a look at those, active.com seemed to give a pretty good assessment, I tried one once which said I had about 25% body fat which was nowhere near
  • bazfitness
    bazfitness Posts: 275 Member
    Options
    After having a look at those, active.com seemed to give a pretty good assessment, I tried one once which said I had about 25% body fat which was nowhere near

    It might be a good one for a woman. For a man though i think it's bad. It only takes your weight and waist size. Taking no account of height, neck size etc. I'm fairly broadish so goign on weight and waist alone would make my body fat reading higher than it is - needless to say i didn't like what active.com returns :laugh:
  • snugglesworthjr
    snugglesworthjr Posts: 176 Member
    Options
    The online ones were far off the mark for me. Skinfold calipers are the way to go! A nice one I've tried is the accu-measure caliper. It's just a one-site (iliac crest) skinfold test, so it's not the most accurate in the world, but it's far better than going by girth measurements alone like the online calculators do AND it's only $7 ($6?) on amazon.com.

    I personally go to a dietitian certified to perform an 8-site skinfold test. More skinfolds = more accuracy.
  • bazfitness
    bazfitness Posts: 275 Member
    Options
    The online ones were far off the mark for me. Skinfold calipers are the way to go! A nice one I've tried is the accu-measure caliper. It's just a one-site (iliac crest) skinfold test, so it's not the most accurate in the world, but it's far better than going by girth measurements alone like the online calculators do AND it's only $7 ($6?) on amazon.com.

    I personally go to a dietitian certified to perform an 8-site skinfold test. More skinfolds = more accuracy.

    cool. I'll defo have to get one of those calipers. Maybe in the future I'll get some sort of proper test done, not sure where I can get that done here.
  • androde
    androde Posts: 96 Member
    Options
    Just had a look online http://www.weightlossresources.co.uk/body_weight/body_fat/percentage.htm here to be exact and it says for my age 25% is a healthy percentage, but may go lower when I hit that, I'm quite short so it shows up more :(
  • Brandongood
    Brandongood Posts: 311 Member
    Options
    Im in the Marines, and for what its worth, I can tell you how we do it. For males we measure only the neck and the waist, right along the belly button. Subtract the neck from the waist, take that value and compare it to the chart in the body fat order based on your height. For females they measure the neck waist and hips. Its said to be + or - 4% accurate. If anyone is interested I can send you a copy of the order that shows you how to do it.
  • rahrahrita
    rahrahrita Posts: 225 Member
    Options
    21% on the first link, 25.7% on the second, and 31% on the third, and 22% using the army calculator.
    uhhhhh...???

    The last time I actually used one of those actual body fat thingies was almost 6 years ago when I was at my heaviest (172ish) and I was 27%. I hope the first one is the most accurate!
  • bazfitness
    bazfitness Posts: 275 Member
    Options
    21% on the first link, 25.7% on the second, and 31% on the third, and 22% using the army calculator.
    uhhhhh...???

    The last time I actually used one of those actual body fat thingies was almost 6 years ago when I was at my heaviest (172ish) and I was 27%. I hope the first one is the most accurate!

    Wow that's quite a bit of difference. I guess the problem with these calculators is that there's a lot of variety in body shapes, although these calculators are trying to take into account, still hard to get totally accurate. I'm going to buy some body fat calipers - here's hoping that since I've lost 9 lbs since my 27% reading - that I'm going to be a lot less :smile:
  • 47Jacqueline
    47Jacqueline Posts: 6,993 Member
    Options
    21% on the first link, 25.7% on the second, and 31% on the third, and 22% using the army calculator.
    uhhhhh...???

    The last time I actually used one of those actual body fat thingies was almost 6 years ago when I was at my heaviest (172ish) and I was 27%. I hope the first one is the most accurate!

    I got 31% on the first ling and 25% on the other two. It's hard to tell which is right. I just got calipers from bodybuilding.com for about $3.99 + postage.

Categories